Knightrider Street is a street in the

City of London The City of London is a city, ceremonial county and local government district that contains the historic centre and constitutes, alongside Canary Wharf, the primary central business district (CBD) of London. It constituted most of London f ...

, located a short distance to the south of St Paul's Cathedral. It was originally the site of the German Church built in 1666–5 and demolished in 1867 to make way for Queen Victoria Street and the

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of the

London Underground The London Underground (also known simply as the Underground or by its nickname the Tube) is a rapid transit system serving Greater London and some parts of the adjacent counties of Buckinghamshire, Essex and Hertfordshire in England. The ...

; the

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, also demolished in 1867 for the same reason; and the church of St Mary Magdelen, demolished in 1866 after being badly damaged in a fire. At No. 5, the physician

Thomas Linacre Thomas Linacre or Lynaker ( ; 20 October 1524) was an English humanist scholar and physician, after whom Linacre College, Oxford, and Linacre House, a boys' boarding house at The King's School, Canterbury, are named. Linacre was more of a schola ...

founded the

Royal College of Physicians The Royal College of Physicians (RCP) is a British professional membership body dedicated to improving the practice of medicine, chiefly through the accreditation of physicians by examination. Founded by royal charter from King Henry VIII in 1 ...

Much of the street was demolished when Queen Victoria Street was built in the 1860s. Until 1872, it consisted of three distinct streets: Old Fish Street in the eastern portion, Little Knightrider Street in the middle portion and Great Knightrider Street in the western portion. The Centre Page pub on the street dates back to the 1660s, when it was known as the Horn; perhaps inevitably,

David Hasselhoff David Michael Hasselhoff (born July 17, 1952), nicknamed "The Hoff", is an American actor, singer, and television personality. He has set a Guinness World Record as the most watched man on TV. Hasselhoff first gained recognition on ''The You ...

, the star of the cult 1980s TV series ''

Knight Rider ''Knight Rider'' is an American entertainment franchise created by Glen A. Larson. The core of ''Knight Rider'' is its three television series: the original ''Knight Rider'' (1982–1986) and sequel series '' Team Knight Rider'' (1997–1998) ...

'', has said that it is his favourite pub.

Name

Its name is first recorded in 1322 in the form of ''Knyghtridestrete''; other forms include ''Knyghtriderestrete'', ''Knyghtryderestrete'', ''Knyghtrederistret'' and ''Knightriders streete''. The 16th-century historian and antiquarian John Stow suggested in his 1598 ''Survey of London'' that the street was named after "Knights well armed and mounted at the Tower Royal, riding from thence through that street west to Creed Lane, and so out at

Ludgate Ludgate was the westernmost gate in London Wall. Of Roman origin, it was rebuilt several times and finally demolished in 1760. The name survives in Ludgate Hill, an eastward continuation of Fleet Street, Ludgate Circus and Ludgate Square. Etym ...

towards Smithfield, where they were there to

tourney A tournament is a competition involving at least three competitors, all participating in a sport or game. More specifically, the term may be used in either of two overlapping senses: # One or more competitions held at a single venue and concentr ...

joust Jousting is a martial game or hastilude between two horse riders wielding lances with blunted tips, often as part of a tournament. The primary aim was to replicate a clash of heavy cavalry, with each participant trying to strike the opponen ...

, or otherwise to show activities before the King and States of the realm." His proposed etymology is questioned by Eilert Ekwall, who points out that "a word ''knightrider'' is unrecorded and if it existed it ought to have meant either a horseman serving a knight or a knightly horseman." He suggests that the original name was "''Riderestret'', to which ''knight'' was prefixed". In early

Middle English Middle English (abbreviated to ME) is a form of the English language that was spoken after the Norman conquest of 1066, until the late 15th century. The English language underwent distinct variations and developments following the Old English ...

the term "rider" was synonymous with "knight", so people may have thought that "Rider Street" meant "Knight's Street" and prefixed it with ''knight'' to make that meaning clearer.

References

{{coord, 51.512513, -0.099548, type:landmark_region:GB, display=title Streets in the City of London